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Yoji Muto
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 15, 2025

Japan, China and South Korea eye trade ministers meeting

Japanese trade minister Yoji Muto will attend the envisaged meeting if he receives parliamentary approval.
Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time” won the award for best film at the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 15, 2025

‘A Samurai in Time’ wins top prize at Japan’s premier film event

This country’s answer to the Oscars also saw awards go to “Oppenheimer” and “Faceless.”
Then-Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa presents a gift to a Ukrainian refugee during the Women, Peace and Security session as part of the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction at the Japan Business Federation in February last year.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2025

Japan recognized 1,661 'quasi-refugees' in 2024

Protection was given to 1,618 Ukrainians, 17 people from Syria, 13 from Myanmar, 11 from Sudan, and one each from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Bank of Japan headquarters building in February. In January, the BOJ voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2025

Bank of Japan unlikely to raise rates this week as trade war intensifies

The central bank voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25% in January, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
A MI-8 helicopter from the Belarus army carries the Belarusian national flag in Minsk in 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 18, 2025

Belarus sentences Japanese man to seven years for spying

The man allegedly took photos of military facilities as well as railway infrastructure, and had traveled to the Ukrainian border.
Emergency medical workers treat victims of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system at a makeshift shelter before they are transported to hospitals on March 20, 1995.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025

Japan to preserve medical records from 1995 sarin attack

The health ministry will also interview medical professionals who treated the victims and compile oral records.
Japan's cyberdefense legislation is designed for the government to acquire and analyze communication information in normal times.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025

Japan's active cyberdefense bills include normal-time monitoring

The bills also call for establishing an independent organization to supervise cyberdefense operations and file relevant reports to parliament.
The Environment Ministry plans to have recycled plastics account for at least 15% of overall plastics used in the production of new vehicle models, at a time when the European Union is looking to make using recycled plastics mandatory in vehicle production.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025

Japan aims to use 15% recycled plastics in auto production

Recycled plastics have rarely been used in vehicle production in Japan due to poor quality and insufficient supply.
Myanmar from Thailand's side of the border, in the Mae Sot district on Feb. 5. Osaka police plan to arrest a Japanese man — who is being detained in Thailand for allegedly forcing a Japanese high school student to participate in a fraud scheme in Myanmar — on suspicion he imprisoned an acquaintance in Osaka last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2025

Osaka police to arrest Japanese man detained in Thailand

The arrest could happen as early as March 25, after he is transferred to Japan from Thailand.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference in January in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 19, 2025

Bank of Japan holds steady at 0.5% as trade war escalates and inflation rises

The move was widely expected, with economists unanimous in seeing back-to-back rate increases as unlikely from the central bank, which made one in January.
Tourists visit a park in front of the Imperial Palace amid snowfall in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 19, 2025

Japan's record snow in February attributed to global warming

The Meteorological Agency said global warming contributed to the record snowfall in northern and eastern Japan last month.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan exceeded 3 million in February, the first time for the month.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2025

Japan records 3.25 million visitors in February

The number shot up 16.9% from a year before, boosted mainly by an increase in travelers from China during the Lunar New Year holiday period.
Women's March Tokyo, a demonstration march against sexual violence and discrimination against women, is held on International Women's Day in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on March 8.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025

Women remain underrepresented in Japan's news industry

Correcting the gender gap is an urgent issue in the industry, with such a change expected to bring women's perspectives to newsrooms.
It has become the government's urgent priority to address the issue of an acute labor shortage in the Self-Defense Forces, as recruitment has consistently fallen short of targets.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 21, 2025

Higher pay and career support planned to help boost Japan's SDF ranks

Recruitment for the Self-Defense Forces has consistently fallen short of targets, with only about 10,000 personnel hired in fiscal 2023 — half of the quota of about 20,000.
Natsue Kondo (left) assumes the post of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's vice admiral commanding the MSDF's Ominato District, based in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, in December 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025

Natsue Kondo: The female vice admiral who broke the glass ceiling at Japan's SDF

The MSDF vice admiral remains the only female SDF officer holding any of the top ranks.
More companies are offering tailored solutions for the unique health and wellness needs of men.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 21, 2025

'Mentech' starts gaining traction in Japan

Inspired by products and services catering specifically to women, mentech aims to provide tailored solutions to meet the health and wellness needs of men.
Eddie Kato, president and managing director of Astroscale Japan, at the company's office in Tokyo in February
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2025

Japan's space debris firm Astroscale to tie up with Indian companies

India has opened the country's space sector to private players beyond the state-owned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Kochi and Tottori prefectures, in collaboration with major airline ANA Holdings, will begin offering airfare discounts through the introduction of a flat-rate system as early as October for individuals based in multiple locations.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2025

Japan picks model projects to promote 'dual habitation'

The land ministry has selected 26 model projects to promote a lifestyle in which people divide their time between rural and urban areas.
Officials of the National Public Safety Commission inspect the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, in June 2024, as crimes committed by unscrupulous host clubs have surfaced.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2025

Crimes by 'tokuryu' anonymous groups pose serious issue in Japan

Police have made capturing the ringleaders a top priority but are struggling in their investigations, largely due to the criminals' use of highly encrypted communication apps.
A Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry government building in Kasumigaseki, an area of Tokyo where the central government ministries are clustered
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025

Japan should look at larger companies to set public servant pay: panel

Until 2005, the government looked at companies with at least 100 employees to decide their workers' salaries.
New Japanese passports will be printed using laser technology based on banknote printing techniques, making forgery more difficult.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025

Applications for forgery-proof passports start in Japan

Passports issued for applications submitted from Monday onward will feature a new design.
Tomu Fujinuma, suspect in a fraud case, is taken to Kansai International Airport from Thailand on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025

Osaka police arrest Japanese man linked to fraud group in Myanmar

Tomu Fujinuma is believed to have been involved in a fraud group targeting Japanese nationals that was operating from a Chinese-affiliated crime group's base.
Pigeons — and their droppings — can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2025

A new year, a new home and new unexpected guests: pigeons

They might seem harmless at first, but their droppings pose serious health risks to humans and the birds can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.
The number of child abuse cases handled by child consultation centers in Japan hit a record high in fiscal 2023, with psychological abuse cases accounting for 60% of the total.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025

Child abuse in Japan hits record 226,000 cases in fiscal 2023

The number of psychological abuse cases grew by 6,834 to 134,948, or some 60% of the total.
Plaintiffs and their supporters hold signs reading "unconstitutional" after the Osaka High Court's ruling on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2025

Another Japan court finds same-sex marriage denial unconstitutional

The Osaka High Court's ruling follows similar judgments made by the Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka and Nagoya high courts.
Currently, banks voluntarily set the upper limit on cash withdrawals from ATMs at ¥500,000 per day, with no legal regulations.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025

Japan eyes ¥300,000 limit on daily ATM use for elderly

Currently, banks voluntarily set the upper limit on cash withdrawals from ATMs at ¥500,000 per day, with no legal regulations.
The "Infinite Paradise" main lantern takes center stage at the 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival, held in the city of Taoyuan between Feb. 12 and 23.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2025

Lantern festival lights up skies in Taiwan with Japanese flair

Japanese municipalities added sparkle to the celebration in Taoyuan, with decorations featuring local mascots and icons.
The Meteorological Agency forecast the yellow sand to move away from eastern Honshu by 6 p.m. on Wednesday. But it will continue to cover parts of western Honshu and Shikoku until Thursday morning, it said.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2025

Yellow sand blankets cities across Japan

The Meteorological Agency says the phenomenon, which could reduce visibility in some regions to under 5 kilometers, is forecast to last through Thursday morning.
Cherry blossoms along a road in Tokyo on Tuesday. The 2025 cherry blossom season is expected to have an economic impact of around ¥1.39 trillion on Japan.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025

Hanami season to have record ¥1.39 trillion economic impact on Japan

The estimate is 22.2% higher than last year's ¥1.14 trillion, according to an annual report compiled by Kansai University economist Katsuhiro Miyamoto.
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025

3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan

The station building in Wakayama Prefecture is the world's first to be built with 3D printer technology, West Japan Railway said.

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Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
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